The Welsh actor stars as The Lizard, aka Dr Curt Connors, in The Amazing Spider-Man, and said he's always been a fan of the superhero.

"My first memory, I was about seven or eight years old and I just got a Spider-Man comic and on the back page there was a Spider-Man mask which I cut out and wore. So Spider-Man's part of everyone's lives," he said.

Rhys, who stars alongside Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone in the film, added: "We've been around the world promoting it and it's breathtaking, once the mask's on Spider-Man could be from anywhere - he could be Chinese, African-American, Welsh, English, French, male, female.

"It's an international, iconic image."

Next up for Rhys is the Depression-era drama Serena, also starring Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper.